Skip to main content

The Occultist

The Occultist is a great PS5 horror adventure with a strong mystery, fun pendulum-based puzzles, and a setting I enjoyed exploring from start to finish. I loved that it asks you to investigate and pay attention instead of handing you combat as the answer to everything. The story gives real history to Godstone, and the presentation makes each major location worth remembering. DALOAR has delivered a strong horror adventure with real personality, and I had a great time uncovering all of Godstone’s secrets.
The Occultist Game Cover
73%Game Brain Score
Most mentioned positive aspects:story, gameplay
Most mentioned negative aspects:stability, grinding
74% User Score Based on 143 reviews
Critic Score 70%Based on 1 reviews

Platforms

Xbox Series X|SPCPlaystation 5XboxWindowsPlayStation
Buy Nowfrom $13.17
Buy NowGet on Steam €20.99Buy NowGet on Xbox Games Store
The Occultist Game Cover

About The Occultist

The Occultist is a single player survival action adventure game with horror and mystery themes. It was developed by DALOAR and was released on April 8, 2026. It received mostly positive reviews from both critics and players.

The Deluxe Edition of The Occultist contains: -The Occultist game -The game's complete Soundtrack -The Occultist Artbook with over 200 pages of behind-the-scenes material

Genres & Tags
Play Modes
The Occultist screenshot
The Occultist screenshot
The Occultist screenshot
The Occultist screenshot
The Occultist screenshot
The Occultist screenshot
The Occultist screenshot
The Occultist screenshot
The Occultist screenshot
The Occultist screenshot
The Occultist screenshot
+45
Skip Games Like The Occultist

Games Like The Occultist

Looking for games like The Occultist? Here are top survival action adventure recommendations with a horror and mystery focus, selected from player-similarity data — start with The Shore, The Beast Inside or Lust from Beyond.

The Shore Image
66%1.8kreviews

The Shore

2021Survival Shooter
PCTabletPlaystation 5+4
Games like The Shore
The Beast Inside Image
77%4.2kreviews

The Beast Inside

2019Open World Role Playing
Nintendo SwitchXbox Series X|SPC+6
Games like The Beast Inside
Lust from Beyond ImageLust from Beyond ImageLust from Beyond Image
69%1.4kreviews

Lust from Beyond

2021Action Adventure
PCWindows
Games like Lust from Beyond
The Alien Cube Image
79%298reviews

The Alien Cube

2021Survival Simulation
PCEpic GamesWindows
Games like The Alien Cube
Ad Infinitum Image
70%639reviews

Ad Infinitum

2023Survival Action Adventure
Xbox Series X|SPCXbox Game Pass+8
Games like Ad Infinitum
Left Alone Image
73%738reviews

Left Alone

2016Survival Management
PCWindows
Games like Left Alone
Maid of Sker Image
74%937reviews

Maid of Sker

2020Survival Action Adventure
Nintendo SwitchAndroidPlaystation 5+12
Games like Maid of Sker
Tormented Souls Image
92%3.4kreviews

Tormented Souls

2021Survival Shooter
Nintendo SwitchXbox Series X|SPC+6
Games like Tormented Souls
Alone in the Dark Image
73%2kreviews

Alone in the Dark

2024Survival Action Adventure
Xbox Series X|SPCPlaystation 5+3
Games like Alone in the Dark
Amnesia: A Machine for Pigs ImageAmnesia: A Machine for Pigs ImageAmnesia: A Machine for Pigs Image
68%6.5kreviews

Amnesia: A Machine for Pigs

2013Survival Shooter
Nintendo SwitchLinuxPC+7
Games like Amnesia: A Machine for Pigs
More games like The Occultist
Skip User Reviews

Reviews

74%Audience ScoreBased on 143 reviews
story50 positive mentions
stability5 negative mentions
  • Impressive visuals and atmospheric environments with detailed, varied locations.
  • Engaging and interesting story combined with well-designed, satisfying puzzles.
  • Excellent voice acting, particularly the protagonist voiced by Doug Cockle, adding to immersion.
  • Gameplay is heavily linear with limited player interaction and some clunky mechanics, including boss fights.
  • Narrative delivery and character development are underwhelming, with some dialogue feeling unnatural or uninspired.
  • Optimization issues and bugs detract from experience, including occasional crashes and poor enemy AI.

  • story

    109 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
    46% positive mentions, 50% neutral mentions, 4% negative mentions

    The story of the game is generally regarded as interesting and atmospheric, with engaging puzzles and a mysterious narrative that drives exploration. However, many reviewers found it underdeveloped, cliché, or confusing at times, with occasional stiff delivery and a rushed or railroaded plot. While some praised the storytelling methods, voice acting, and environmental details, others criticized its predictability, lack of emotional investment, and heavy-handed exposition.

    • “The story and the atmosphere are great, from time to time there is a jumpscare but compared to other horror games it's a mild chuckle then and there.”
    • “At the center of this game is the story, which gets told in a fascinating way.”
    • “It brilliantly blends the eerie atmosphere of games like Resident Evil and Outlast with the storytelling depths of A Plague Tale and Demonologist.”
    • “Unfortunately, the story feels underdeveloped and fails to hold much interest, while the dialogue comes across as bland and uninspired.”
    • “The story is also generic, with characters that you never get attached to nor feel emotions for.”
    • “[b] story [/b]: they threw everything in at once — the sins of fathers and children, rituals, illnesses, and basically everything possible — turning it into a complete mess.”

  • gameplay

    67 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
    28% positive mentions, 68% neutral mentions, 4% negative mentions

    The gameplay primarily focuses on exploration and puzzle-solving using an occult pendulum with multiple abilities, though some powers and mechanics feel underutilized or inconsistent. While the puzzles and atmosphere are generally engaging, issues like tedious, repetitive puzzles, clunky boss fights, and occasional immersion-breaking design choices hold the experience back. Overall, the gameplay is solid but lacks depth and polish, making it more appealing to players who enjoy narrative-driven, non-combat horror adventures.

    • “Gameplay consists mainly of exploration and puzzle-solving while unraveling a mystery.”
    • “Primary gameplay involves exploration and using an occult "pendulum" that can perform four occult mechanics.”
    • “The mechanics of using the medallion are extremely cool; peering through the crystal to find random items and blood splatters allows for some cool storytelling moments and reveals how bad things actually are.”
    • “Little over an hour played and I keep wondering why this game is so badly made or what is going on with the audio and gameplay.”
    • “There are many places and locations; I was hoping to see more with the pendulum or be able to interact with the world, reveal secret locations, or discover mysteries. In the end, some of the powers became useless for large gameplay parts.”
    • “A rack has fallen on its side and now it's an untraversable obstacle; some fence rose up from the ground and you have to solve the puzzle to make it go away though it is barely a meter high and the protagonist could easily vault over it; there are aggressive rats running on the floor of a dining room and the protagonist has to run away instead of climbing onto a table; there is an open window leading to a locked room which the protagonist can easily fit through but no – look for another way in; etc. Of course, there are gameplay convictions and the developers have to limit the player’s area of exploration but when idiotic moments like these happen over and over again, it simply breaks the immersion.”

  • atmosphere

    47 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
    60% positive mentions, 34% neutral mentions, 6% negative mentions

    The atmosphere of "The Occultist" is frequently praised for its captivating, immersive, and often dark or eerie ambiance, supported by strong visuals, lighting, and sound design. However, some reviews note inconsistency, with moments that feel unconvincing, lacking tension, or failing to fully build the intended horror mood. Overall, the game excels in creating a moody, gothic horror setting that enhances the story and gameplay, though it may not fully satisfy all horror or atmosphere expectations.

    • “The atmosphere is immersive, and the puzzles are challenging, but not too difficult for me, a self-confessed puzzle-hater.”
    • “The atmosphere is incredible; the color and light usage set a very strong moody and oppressive atmosphere.”
    • “I always felt on edge due to the game's impeccable soundtrack and atmospheric sound design; the mechanics were incredible and the whole environment was absolutely stunning and beautiful.”
    • “There is no atmosphere built in this game at all, there is no horror and there is nothing spooky.”
    • “As for the atmosphere, because of the aforementioned ludonarrative dissonance, it is basically non-existent.”
    • “Really no danger or atmosphere to speak of here, it's all pretty bland.”

  • graphics

    45 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
    64% positive mentions, 29% neutral mentions, 7% negative mentions

    The graphics of The Occultist are widely praised for their impressive visuals, detailed artwork, and atmospheric lighting effects that effectively enhance the horror mood. While some note occasional sluggish execution and blurry textures, the overall art style, character designs, and environments are considered beautiful and polished, often standing out as the game's strongest aspect. The visual presentation is frequently highlighted as a key factor in immersing players and complementing the story and puzzles.

    • “This is a masterpiece of RTX-enabled graphics, where designers truly know what they're doing and what they are using the graphics for.”
    • “Fantastic game - this team just instantly draws you in with stunning visuals and lots of great atmosphere, I hope the game succeeds and we get another like it.”
    • “Daloar, the studio behind The Occultist, describe themselves as 'a Spanish team of 32 dedicated gamedev professionals with deep roots in computer graphics,' and that seems pretty accurate, because the graphics are clearly the most polished aspect of this game.”
    • “The blurry graphics unfortunately are nothing to write home about, but the gameplay and puzzles make up for it.”
    • “The game's visuals are sometimes sluggishly executed with exaggerated bloom and depth of field, trying too hard to set the mood, but other times, especially in interiors, it combines nice compositions and excellent lighting and smoke/fog effects to create a nice atmosphere.”
    • “Even running this game with low graphics and above the minimum requirement for specs had my GPU running at 95% just from starting it up.”

  • music

    24 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
    63% positive mentions, 24% neutral mentions, 13% negative mentions

    The music in the game is widely praised for its atmospheric and fitting soundtrack, which effectively enhances the mood and tension throughout the experience. Many reviewers highlight the excellent sound design and memorable main theme, noting that the music often carries the game's eerie and immersive ambiance. Overall, the soundtrack is considered a standout aspect that significantly elevates the gameplay and storytelling.

    • “I always felt on edge due to the game's impeccable soundtrack and atmospheric sound design; the mechanics were incredible and the whole environment was absolutely stunning and beautiful.”
    • “Both the voice acting and the music are absolutely spectacular, which only elevates the final experience.”
    • “The story is interesting, but nothing revolutionary, graphics, atmosphere and music are 10/10.”
    • “The scares are cheap jumpscares and at one point I didn't even register I was being chased until the music clued me in.”
    • “The music is fine; however, I did not really remember any of the compositions except the main theme.”
    • “[b]Music and atmosphere.[/b]”

  • optimization

    10 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
    40% positive mentions, 30% neutral mentions, 30% negative mentions

    Optimization in the game is mixed, with some users experiencing performance issues like overheating, random stuttering, and image lag during camera movements, even on high-end PCs. While adjusting settings can improve smoothness, the game still feels not fully optimized, impacting overall performance stability.

    • “Performance was good without any issues from start to finish.”
    • “As for performance, I had it at the highest settings and it chugged a bit, so I reduced it down to medium and it was completely smooth.”
    • “Performance was good though I tuned my settings a bit, and I had to adjust camera settings at the start to avoid motion sickness and eye strain issues.”
    • “The game also needs serious optimization; my i7-12700f hit 94°C during certain cutscenes, which is ridiculous.”
    • “As for performance, I had it at the highest settings and it chugged a bit; I reduced it down to medium and it was completely smooth.”
    • “Optimization issues include image lag while using the interface and during sudden camera movements.”

  • humor

    8 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
    88% positive mentions, -1% neutral mentions, 13% negative mentions

    The humor in the game is a mixed bag, with some genuinely funny easter eggs and goofy ghost animations that elicit laughter, while the protagonist's constant, often unfunny quips fall flat. Voice acting featuring Doug Cockle adds an amusing meta element but is inconsistent in tone. Overall, the atmosphere fluctuates between effective scares and kitschy moments that unintentionally generate humor.

    • “One jumpscare actually got me, but the rest felt cheap; some were even so goofy they made me laugh.”
    • “Perhaps I'm just a desensitized broken man, but some of the ghosts are funny wakey waving inflatable tube ghost NPCs.”
    • “The atmosphere is also a bit hit-or-miss: some segments are quite effective, while others feel so kitschy they become unintentionally funny rather than scary.”
    • “The player character doesn't take almost anything that's happening seriously and constantly throws out stupid, unfunny quips.”

  • stability

    6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
    17% positive mentions, 0% neutral mentions, 83% negative mentions

    The game's stability is inconsistent, with several users reporting bugs, glitches, and even softlocks that disrupt progression, especially later in the game. However, some players experienced smooth gameplay with minimal issues, indicating mixed technical performance overall.

    • “The general consensus on the community forums is that this game is really, really buggy, and I'm afraid I have to agree since loading a save has caused my game to become softlocked.”
    • “The puzzles grew more frustrating the more you were confronted with them and it didn't help that after the second location the game starts to get more buggy.”
    • “I dropped the game because the final boss is buggy as hell.”

  • grinding

    3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
    0% positive mentions, 0% neutral mentions, 100% negative mentions

    Grinding in the game is often described as tedious and borderline boring, contributing to a generally dull experience. This repetitive nature detracts from the overall enjoyment, leading to low ratings.

    • “Long stretches of the game are tedious and, dare I say, borderline boring at times.”
    • “Even the Resident Evil series, which I love with all my heart, has fallen into a tedious dynamic with puzzles in the past, but that doesn't happen here.”
    • “Overall: a boring, tedious game, 3/10”

  • emotional

    2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
    100% positive mentions, 0% neutral mentions, 0% negative mentions

    Users appreciate the emotional dynamics between characters and the protagonist's personal connection to the story, though some expected a deeper emotional experience overall.

    • “I enjoyed the emotional dynamic between the characters, and the fact our character has a personal link into what's happening on the island.”

  • replayability

    1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
    0% positive mentions, 0% neutral mentions, 100% negative mentions

    The game offers about 5 hours of gameplay with little to no replayability, making it a tentative recommendation mainly if purchased on sale, as the full price feels steep for its limited content.

    • “Tentative recommendation, on sale, because there is roughly 5 hours of gameplay, zero replayability, so that asking price is a bit steep, though what's in the game is decent enough.”
Skip Critic Reviews

Critic Reviews

70%Critics’ scoreBased on 1 critic reviews
Skip Game Offers

Buy The Occultist

Some of these are affiliate links — if you buy through them, we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you.

Play Times

9h Median play time
8h Average play time
5-10h Spent by most gamers
*Based on 2 analyzed playthroughs
Skip Videos

Videos

Skip Game News

Game News

The Occultist Review – A Good Old-Fashioned Mystery

April 13 on gamingbolt.com

The Occultist Released

April 8 on bluesnews.com
Skip FAQs

Frequently Asked Questions

The Occultist is a survival action adventure game with horror and mystery themes. Common tags for The Occultist include first-person, indie, trading, linear, psychological and others.

The Occultist is available on Xbox Series X|S, PC, PlayStation 5, Windows and others.

On average players spend around 8 hours playing The Occultist.

The Occultist was released on April 8, 2026.

The Occultist was developed by DALOAR.

The Occultist has received mostly positive reviews from both players and critics. Most players liked The Occultist for its story but disliked it for its stability.

The Occultist is a single player game.

Similar games include The Shore, The Beast Inside, Lust from Beyond, The Alien Cube, Ad Infinitum and others.